


Act III: Trials

by JessKo2000 (JessKo)



Series: Dead Weight [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-15 09:23:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17526065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessKo/pseuds/JessKo2000
Summary: After two years undercover in the Akatsuki, Jess is glad to be back among friends, who stick by her side despite how much everything has changed,Back home in the Leaf Village, she is just in time for a strange mission where nothing goes to plan.





	1. Return

The closer Zetsu and I got to the village, the more anxious I became. How we would get in was beyond me, but Zetsu claimed to have a plan.

When the village gates came into view, my heart skipped a beat. It had been so long, but we were finally back.

“So, how are we going to get in?” I asked, and Zetsu just said to follow him. Did he know some kind of password, or have a key to the village? Or maybe there was a secret passage!

When we walked up, a guard shouted “Akatsuki!” and Zetsu threw his hands up in the air.

“We surrender.” He said simply.

“Great plan.” I whispered, obviously disappointed.

“If your clothes were still fine, I would have had you pretend to have me as your captive. But, you look like my ally, so this is the best I’ve got, K.” Zetsu whispered back. Great.

I threw my hands up as well, and had them quickly bound behind my back.

“Nice sword.” Said the ninja escorting me straight to the Hokage, with Zetsu in tow. “Too bad you use it for evil.”

In fact, Zetsu’s plan was working out better than I expected it to. We got to the office where we had first met and a wave of nostalgia washed over me. When we left, Zetsu was about as cold as winter in the Land of Snow, but now I would even consider him my friend. But when we walked in, the old man I was expecting was replaced with a woman who looked about thirty.

“Where is the third?” I asked, but she just replied with an eye roll and started fumbling through a stack of papers on her desk, drawing out a yellow folder.

“Dead. Hmmm… You are in our files, but only match about half of your description, Zetsu.” She said, looking at him over the folder, but then looked at me, the folder, then back at me.

“You, on the other hand, aren’t in here.” She said.

“Let me explain,” Said Zetsu as diplomatically as he could, and he told her everything, which took quite some time.

“Is that true?” She asked, looking at me, and I nodded vigorously.

Then the doors burst wide open and Neji ran in.

“Lady Tsunade! I have news regarding a ninja who left several years ago to go spy…” He started urgently, and then his eyes were locked on me.

“I’ve heard as much, and I’m glad you’re here so you can verify some information,” This ‘Lady Tsunade Hokage’ continued dully. She then questioned Neji and dismissed him after some time.

‘Do not tell anyone’ I mouthed to Neji, thinking of Guy and Lee, and he nodded as he left.

She then called in an assistant, Shizune, to get some of the thirds old papers and look for anything relating to me and this ‘spying mission’ I was sent on.

Sadly, all she came back with were my old academy testing scores, Genin acceptance letters, and Guy’s mission reports from when I was on his team. There was nothing about the mission, or even the debt that got Zetsu here in the first place.

“Well,” she started, “It looks like there are no records on this mission, and you are simply recorded as a missing nin.” She said, showing me a small note the third had written on the last page of my records. It said ‘Missing nin, unknown reason. Assume alive but not dangerous until body is found.’

Missing nin? Not dangerous? Was my mission pointless? Or maybe it was a last ditch effort for me to investigate the Akatsuki in a time of crisis? I grabbed my head, and realized that Samehada had cut the rope binding my hands.

“Anyways, I guess you guys are no longer part of Akatsuki, and have delivered some vital information regarding their whereabouts, so I will give you lodging assignments and figure out what to do with you two team wise and measure your abilities. Come back in… tomorrow. Dismissed.” Lady Tsunade finished, and handed Zetsu an address, apparently hinting that we were to share a place to live.

On our way out, I cut Zetsu’s rope, and as we walked through the door, a pink haired girl stopped us.

“Follow me,” She said, and led us to a clothing store.

“We can’t have two Akatsuki walking around the Leaf, can we?” She said in an overly bubbly voice.

I grabbed a green shirt with light green trim that I tied together with my red headband and some green pants that were somewhat tight. I also found where Guy apparently shopped, because by some miracle I found the orange leggings.

Zetsu walked out looking like Captain Yamato, in all black with the red spiral patches on his shoulders. All that was missing was a headband and a vest. Plus, Yamato didn’t have bright green hair, but the facial features were almost the same. I kept my robe as well, just for old times’ sake.

“If you need anything else, I’ll be with Tsunade.” The girl said as she walked away.

“I miss the Third…” I mumbled.

“Yeah, but anyways, how do I look?” Asked Zetsu with a wink, spreading his arms out.

“Great!” I said, mustering up just as much enthusiasm, not realizing until now that Zetsu could actually be happy.

“So… Where is this?” He asked handing me the slip of paper with the address. After a bit of exploring, we found ourselves in front of a small apartment not far from where I used to live. Inside, it was plain, but there was a living room, kitchen with a breakfast nook, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. There was also about a weeks’ worth of food stocked in the kitchen.

“Not bad,” I commented, “But it needs a little, something.”

Zetsu then laid his hand on the round wooden dining table and a small plant grew from the center, budded, and flowered. It bloomed into two yellow pansies.

“Better?” He asked kindly, and I replied with a nod.

“Much.”

We picked our rooms, and I put my robe and the spare clothes I bought in the closet. Then, looking out the window, I saw a bustling market on the street behind the apartment. I decided to go check it out and, not having anything better to do, Zetsu joined.

We went stall to stall, checking out each person’s wares.

“So, since when have you been the happy type?” I asked Zetsu while checking out some ceramics.

“Well, now that I don’t have to always have half of me always contradicting my every whim…” He started, holding up a two part dish that was a small white bowl encased in a larger black outer dish.

“You can let go?” I suggested.

“Yeah, but it’s more than that,” said Zetsu, putting the dark part down and only holding up the now independent white dish. “I’m not up all night making sure I don’t suddenly lose control. Or have to not only watch what I say, but what I think. Now I can make a mistake, and someone doesn’t pay with their life. I feel… Free.”

I had only experienced a few hours of having a real dark half, so I could only imagine how hard it was for Zetsu. I never even thought of having to censor my thoughts, only my words. How you could ever have an ounce of freedom living like that was beyond me.

“Anyways, that’s all in the past.” He said, and we continued on our way. I knew it would only be a matter of time before I ran into someone I knew, but I didn’t know when. As soon as I thought this, a familiar face rounded the corner onto the market block. He had is face in a book and a goofy blush on his one exposed cheek.

“You know him?” Zetsu asked as I started to make a B-line for him.

“KAKASHI SENSEI!!!!” I yelled as I hugged/jumped on him.

“Whoa!” He said as we hit the ground.

“OhMyGosh!!IThoughtIWouldNeverSeeYouAgain!!!” I said excitedly, looking down on him. At first his eye was wide open in shock, but then it closed in understanding.

“Jess…” He said, “It’s been too long.” Then, Zetsu approached and answered his own question.

“I will take this as a yes.”

“Who is this?” Kakashi asked, and I said, “Zetsu!”

“Really. You’ve changed.” Kakashi said, getting up. “Last time you were here, I believe you were on a different side.”

“Yeah. Well, lots of things have happened since then.” Zetsu replied.

“Oh yeah!” I said.

“Well, you’ve grown as well.” Kakashi said, now looking at me almost straight in the eye instead of looking down.

“And what’s that?” he asked, eyeing Samehada.

“A little souvenir.” I said, holding it out. Samehada unwrapped itself at its tip and gave a sharp grin to Kakashi.

“Huh. Anyways, I had to meet my team about an hour ago, so I’ll be off.” Kakashi said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“He does know he is late, right?” Zetsu asked, and I replied, “Yeah. He does that. It will be at least another hour before his team sees him, too.”

“Hmph,” said Zetsu, still holding the white dish.

“You should go pay for that…” I said as we headed back to the ceramics booth and I put Samehada back on my back.

He bought both halves and we started on our way back home. But we didn’t get too far before I saw another familiar face.

“Not again,” groaned Zetsu as he chased me down the street.

I started running towards him, but before I could catch him from behind, my old sensei turned around and instantly recognized me.

“How’s my old student doing?” Said Guy while scooping me into his arms with a small grunt, “Boy! You went and got all grown up on me!”

“Aww… I’m not that old,” I replied as he put me down.

“Yes, I am one hundred percent sure that you are still in the springtime of your youth!” Guy exclaimed with a thumbs up, and I replied with a laugh. Then, Guy suddenly tensed and looked over my shoulder. Turning around, I noticed Zetsu had caught up, along with Guys discomfort.

“Uhhh… Zetsu, this is Guy. Guy sensei, Zetsu,” I explained while trying to introduce them to each other. Guy instantly eased up and grabbed Zetsu’s hand.

“Well, in that case, nice to meet you, Zetsu!” he said while shaking Zetsu’s hand vigorously. “Anyways, when did you get back?” He said, focusing the attention back on me, and I quickly told him everything that had happened in the last few hours.

“Whoa! Welcome back! I’d best be off, though! Lady Hokage called, and I think I now know why!” said Guy as he began walking away, but before he got too far, I ran back up to him.

“Wait! Can I ask you a favor?” I whispered and Guy nodded with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Don’t tell Lee I’m back, I want to surprise him!” I told Guy, and he seemed to understand, winked, and continued on his way.

On our way back to the apartment, Zetsu asked me, “So, that’s where you get your more... Excitable side from?” and I replied,

“Yeah, but I prefer the term ‘youthful’.”

 


	2. Evaluation

“It’s time to go,” I said while opening the door.

“Isn’t that my line,” replied Zetsu with a smile, following me out. The past day had been pretty uneventful, and I was itching for some excitement. We headed for the training grounds, and I was flagged down by Guy as soon as we arrived.

“You ready? Someone is waiting for you, and I kept up my promise!” he said as we walked into a clearing. The Hokage was waiting with Kakashi, but then I looked to my left and saw Neji, a girl with buns (Most likely Tenten), and then Lee.

“You!!!!” said Neji, storming over. “What did you do!? One minute, your spiked worm thing wrestles me to the ground, then I wake up in a tree surrounded by a battlefield!”

“Oh yeah…” I started, rubbing Samehada. But before I could explain, Lee walked over.

“Hey there…” I started awkwardly, and after a second Lee’s face lit up like a candle.

“JESSSSSSS!!!!!” He yelled, wrapping me in a huge bear hug. Then, pulling back slightly, he looked me straight in the eye and started going on and on about how it had been too long. But all I could do was watch. We were still the same height, and we could have gone on like that forever if Kakashi had not interrupted.

“We should probably get started,” He said, and we both finally let go of each other. It had been too long and I couldn’t wait to not only share my story, but learn his.

Next, Tenten walked over.

“Wait, you guys all know each other?” she asked, and Neji replied.

“Sadly, yes. SHE is the one who attacked me on our last mission.”

“Oh, really. Then you must be pretty strong to take down Neji!” she said, turning to me.

“Yeah! She’s the best!” Added Lee.

“I’m not that great…” I said, but they all just laughed.

“Don’t kid yourself. I’m sure it took a lot to keep up with the Akatsuki!” I turned around to see Guy standing next to me.

“You know?” I asked, and he nodded.

“Yeah, and so does Kakashi. Sounds like you had quite the adventure!”

“Akatsuki?!?” This time it was all three of them, each pulling out a weapon. Except Lee. He just ran up and started shooting out questions at a hundred miles an hour.

“Whoa! Calm down, everyone. We left permanently, right?” I turned around for Zetsu’s confirmation, but he was over with the Hokage.

At that exact moment, they both looked in our direction and walked over. The Hokage explained that she would break us up and run a few tests to evaluate Zetsu’s and my skills, with team Guy’s help. The main goal, though, would be to give new team assignments and see if any combinations of skills would prove to be extremely advantageous.

There were eight of us in all if you counted the adults, five without, and Tsunade decided to start with one on one battles. She pitted me against Neji and Zetsu against Tenten. Whoever grabbed a bell from the other first would win.

Zetsu volunteered to go first so I could prepare, but I had already beat Neji once so I wasn’t nervous. But Lee seemed to be.

I asked what was wrong, and Lee told me that Neji was already a jonin and wished me luck.

“You think me weak! Hmph! Just wait and see, I won’t lose!” I declared valiantly, and then Neji walked up.

“It won’t be so easy this time!” Rebutted Neji, but I just crossed my arms and with a brave smile added, “Don’t be so sure! Let’s let the action talk!”

“Great idea!” Said Lee, stepping between us and breaking the nonexistent tension.

“Well, here I go!” Said Zetsu, walking out to the middle of the clearing.

Then, Tenten approached. “So, before I go into this blindly, what can expect from your friend?” she asked.

“Wood style jutsu.” I said and she nodded, heading out to the center as well. “What’s your specialty?”

“Weapons! And expect lots of them!” she replied.

The Hokage handed them each a small bell to attach to their waist. It will be hard for Zetsu to get close to her if she uses weapons and I hoped for the best.

“OK. You each have a bell. Whoever gets the others bell first will win… Go!”

“Woo!!!! Go Zetsu!!!” I yelled, watching the fight begin.

Tenten pulled out a scroll and Zetsu, instantly knowing what it was, went underground. I didn’t know he could still use that trick. Not knowing what to do, Tenten grabbed a handful of weapons and jumped up, with Zetsu right on her heels. I then realized he had just used the ‘headhunter’ jutsu. Very smart.

But, Tenten was already in the air and threw down a barrage of sharp pointy objects (You know what I mean) at Zetsu who had her ankle. He then used wood style to lift himself up on a pillar of wood. In the process, though, Tenten had hit him pretty good and Zetsu had a shuriken in his shoulder and a long cut in his ear.

Pulling her down, Zetsu trapped Tenten’s arms in the pillar and jumped down, grapping her bell on the way.

He then gently pulled Tenten out from the pillar and handed the bell to the Hokage. But just for good measures, she took his bell while Zetsu’s back was turned.

Laughing, she helped Zetsu get the weapon out of his shoulder and wrapped the wound left in its place.

“Nice job out there,” She said, obviously disappointed that she lost so easily.

“Awesome!!!! You did great!” I yelled, running to Zetsu.

“Thanks, but it looks like the boys aren’t too happy with me.” Added Zetsu,

nodding towards a scowling Neji as Lee ran over to give Tenten a look over. “Tenten, you did pretty good to! Not many people can hit me as good as you did,” he said, rubbing his shoulder.

“Anyways, it looks like it’s our turn,” I said, looking at Neji who silently walked to the point where Zetsu’s battle had started. I followed and Samehada started to shake, obviously anxious to fight Neji again. I met up with Neji and leaned on Samehada.

“Should I let Samehada have a snack, or should he wait on the sidelines?” I asked, and Neji just rolled his eyes.

“Sword or not, I won’t lose again. I know its ‘big trick’ now.” He replied, and not wanting to disappoint, I balanced it on my right shoulder.

“Suit yourself.”

“Alright. Let’s get started with the next round.” Said Tsunade, handing us the bells.

“Now… Begin!”

As soon as Tsunade said to begin, I jumped back into the trees, landing lightly on an upper branch. I did this knowing Neji was a close range fighting type. But then, using the byakugan, Neji instantly located me and threw kunai in my direction. Taking the opportunity, I leapt out of the tree and held Samehada up, ready to strike.

I brought my sword down on Neji. But before I made contact, he started his 64 palms rotation, deflecting the blow. If I didn’t have such a tight grip on it, Samehada would have gone flying away with the force of the rotation.

So, this was Neji’s ultimate defense? I had never seen it in action since, the last time we fought, I had the element of surprise on my side. But, I had an idea!

I tried the same attack again, but this time I stuck my foot out and used the sphere to be launched into the air. Then, I used the window of time between the spheres Neji created to strike.

Swinging at an angle, I slammed Neji in the back and dragged Samehada across his back, both shredding and pounding in the process. Samehada also made quick work of most of Neji’s chakra.

Then, I reached for the bell as Neji was knocked forward, but he twisted around and grabbed my wrist. Then, with me in short range, Neji jabbed at least four of my chakra pressure points before I kicked him square in the chest to push him away.

In just that short amount of time, Neji had completely disrupted the flow of my chakra. I remember one time, in a rare training session with Hidan, he told me to “Never underestimate the power of an attack, no matter how basic it may seem.”

He then threw a series of needles at me. I dodged most, but one did knick me. I didn’t think much of it though and attacked. But Hidan completely ignored my charge and ran around me to the wall where the needles were lodged and grabbed the one that hit me, glistening red, and started his ritual by licking a drop off of the needles point. “See. Even the smallest hit could instantly lose you the battle.” And then, he pressed the tip of his scythe to his chest and I instantly felt the pressure. It then pierced the skin and crimson red blood began to seep through the front of my shirt.

I guess I hadn’t learned my lesson because Neji just pulled another ‘One hit and you’re out’ attack. So, I used his chakra that Samehada had absorbed to get mine flowing again. That boy must have some serious chakra, because the amount I took in was incredible and Neji was still standing across the clearing.

I decided that, with this boost, I would pull a trump card. I started to stockpile all of my chakra and began making the hand signs.

It was an excruciatingly long sequence but, luckily, I got it right and completed the final sign.

“Wood style-Wood Dragon Jutsu!”

The ground before me bulged out and took a serpentine shape, turning into an earth colored dragon over a hundred feet long, towering into the sky. It wasted not a second before locating its prey, dive bombing from the heavens for a direct attack.

Feeling drained, I stood back and let the mighty Wood Dragon wreak havoc. Toying with Neji, it slammed into the ground, with Neji barely dodging the devastating blows. Then, it trapped Neji in its coiled body and began to constrict him, but at the last second, Neji began another round of rotations, jumping out of the dragon’s death grip.

Then, he took to the offensive, sending air palms in my direction while dodging the dragon. He thought that was merely a distraction? For using up so much chakra, I expected the Wood Dragon Jutsu to be much more effective. I mean, even the First had used it in his fight against Madara. I guess it was more suited to fight larger, less nimble targets. Although, Neji was slowly losing steam, his air palms becoming noticeably weaker as I dodged them with more and more ease.

I took a cue from Zetsu and used the headhunter jutsu with the last of my chakra to get right into the middle of the action and, as soon as Neji was busy with a rotation, I came up and grabbed at the bell the instant he stopped spinning.

He noticed and yanked mine a millisecond after I had his bell.

“Well, I’m glad those are over with,” stated Tsunade while walking over to Neji and me with the others in tow. Zetsu neutralized the wood dragon, coaxing it into the ground.

“First, hats off to you, Zetsu. You easily defeated one of our most promising kunoichi with a minimum amount of chakra. You assessed her fighting style quickly and then used effective means to disarm her and grab the bell.”  Then, she looked to me and her positive demeanor disappeared completely.

“On the other hand, you, Jess, stated out strong. It was even very resourceful when you used the 64 palms rotation to launch yourself into the air. But, I think you rely on your sword’s abilities a bit too much, especially when you wasted all of the chakra it collected to create a jutsu you didn’t even know would work. And, big surprise, it really didn’t. Also, the damage you took should have knocked you out, and would have if your sword hadn’t intervened. I honestly think that thing has a better shot of becoming a high rank nin than you.”

That lady hates me. I mean, she didn’t even mention the fact that, despite my mistakes, I got Neji’s bell first. Taking a deep breath, I tried to keep my cool. At least she complemented samehada.

“Anyways, I try to be a person of second chances. I’m going to put you in charge of a C-Rank mission with… Lee and Neji. They will let me know how you do.”

Wonderful. Being put with Lee I’m OK with, actually quite happy about. But really, Neji!?! I am quite sure he will report every little mistake I make. Well, looks like I just won’t have to make any.

She gave us the details, and this would just involve being guards with a dash of investigating. I guess some farmers have reported sheep being killed at night and barns being pillaged and they wanted us to check it out. We set out right away after a few quick goodbyes and swinging home to grab the bare essentials.

“Just like old times, eh?” Asked Lee as we passed through the village gates.

“Yup. Just like old times.”


	3. Capture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKA the "SHEEP??" Arc

I took the lead and set a quick pace, but Lee insisted on staying right next to me with Neji taking the rear. We passed the hours by talking and made it to the first farm by sundown.

Approaching, a strong scent of manure wafted towards us as we walked up to the farmer’s house. A girl not much younger than us with short brown hair answered the door.

“Hello! My name is Saiuko and you must be from the village! You can come in, and I’ll get my father.” She led us to the dining room and we sat around the table as she went upstairs.

“Well, I’m glad we made it in time,” said Lee.

“I’m sure they appreciate our punctuality.” Added Neji with quite literally no emotion.

“Looks like the Uchiha have a new rival for the ‘Clan with The Most Emo’ award.” I said

with a playful smirk, and Lee went along with it, pulling down the bottoms of his eyes so that only the whites of his eyes showed.

“I’m Neji, the master of monotoneeeeeeee…” He added, which earned an eruption of laughter from yours truly. Even Samehada joined in with a deep and dramatic growl.

“Very funny. Make fun of the serious one.” Said a very annoyed Neji.

“Gasp!! He shows emotion!!!” I announced, and even Neji chucked slightly at this remark.

“And now the final event- Laughter! A nearly impossible feat!” commented Lee. Now we were all cracking up, but then the farmer walked in. Sadly, I didn’t notice in time.

“HaHa! I think the Uchiha will take the crown this time!” I concluded and then nearly rolled over with laughter. But the others were silent. He was right behind me. Oh crap.

“I’m glad you are having a good time, but my sheep could be dying this very moment.” He stated with a tinge of sarcasm. I could already tell that he was going to be a no-nonsense client.

“Of course, why don’t you take us to the crime scene?” Asked Neji very professionally.

“Yes, yes. Right this way.” Said the farmer, leading us out the back door. “I take it that you will be in charge?”

“No, actually that would be me.” I answered for Neji, jumping in front of him. The farmer let out an exasperated sigh.

“Oh really? Then I suggest you get your act together, little girl.” Why do none of the adults here have even a grain of respect for me? I mean, even the Hokage acted like I could do nothing right.

“So, to get started, do you still have any of the, uh, victims?” I asked, letting his comment go right over my head as I decided to get on with the mission.

“Yes. In here.” He said, opening the hatch to a cellar. A horrid smell wafted up the stairs, but I went right down and the farmer followed me and lit a lantern. The sight that was illuminated was disgusting.

“Ewwww… What happened to these sheep?” Asked Lee at the sight of the maimed, barely recognizable pile of bones, flesh, and fur.

“I know, completely appalling. Even Saiuko won’t come down here anymore. So, after getting a look, it would be appreciated if you could dispose of the corpses.”

“OK, but where would you like us to put them?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Bury them, burn them, make yourselves a coat for all I care. I just want them out of here.” He then left us, most likely to wait for us to report back to him in the house.

“Well, let’s get started.” I suggested, and we dove in.

Neji successfully got a somewhat complete sheep from the pile and, after a bit of reconstruction, we got a good look. What at first looked like the aftermath of a wolf feeding frenzy really, under closer inspection, was a sheep that had several deep gashes from being grabbed, possibly by tentacles of some sort. Then, something had gnawed on it and spit the poor creature back out, left to rot.

“So, where are we going to put this stuff? Or better yet, how will we get it out of here?” But Samehada answered Lee’s question for him. It started eating the sheep and, using my chakra, grew large enough to store the huge mound. Luckily, it also stayed narrow enough to be carried up the stairs.

The bad news, though, is that Samehada was so heavy that we could not pick it up, even when all lifting together. Plus, it couldn’t even move anything other than its hilt.

“Capitol idea this was. We can’t even lift the big oaf out of here!” Exclaimed a frustrated Neji. Once again, though, it was Samehada to the rescue, after giving Neji a nice long growl for the ‘big oaf’ comment. It then tugged on one of the orange leggings on my arms with its hilt.

“Of course! I’ll get this up the stairs in just a sec!” I said, pulling the weights off my arms.

“Are you sure?” Asked Lee, also knowing how I trained.

“Yes, and it would be helpful if you boys carried these up for me,” I replied, tossing one in each of their directions. Lee strained under the weight and Neji dropped his after just a few seconds.

“Why the heck would someone carry FOUR of these things around all day?” Said Neji, obviously bewildered at the weight.

“You’ll see. And also, those are the small ones,” I announced, almost bragging, as I flashed the even bigger weights around my legs.

“What the-”

“Whoa!!! Even Guy Sensei hasn’t gone that big since, well, before you left.”

“Yeah, well, these were his, after all.”

“Really!!! That explains a lot! No wonder he was bopping around the village as fast as a cheetah for a few days after he saw you!” I could only imagine what that had looked like.

“I can honestly say that you all are officially crazy.” Commented Neji.

“Nope, just devoted to training!” I finished, easily picking up my bloated sword with one arm. I hadn’t realized just how strong I was because of Guy’s slightly unconventional but apparently super effective training methods. Samehada made a hum of approval as we went up the stairs.

“So, where two?” I asked, but Neji only answered with a grunt and nodded to the outskirts of the farm. Lee shook his head in agreement. It was quite hilarious to see him so worn out over just carrying something I had grown so used to that I could easily forget I was wearing.

And I’m sure the farmer got quite the hoot out of watching us walk to the other side of the farm in such a fashion.

There wasn’t much conversation walking across the field, and when we finally got to our destination, Samehada upchucked all the sheep, and they looked even more chewed up than before. Then, Neji and Lee caught up and dumped the weights at my feet.

“Ugh. There you go, and please never ask me to ever carry those again,” Said an exhausted Neji.

“No problem, Neji, but I’m surprised such a light load wore you out so easily,” I teased, almost effortlessly putting them back on.

“Haha, very cute. But may I just say the Hokage may be right about this sword of yours,” said Neji, nudging the still bloated Samehada on the floor who, after its big ‘meal’ let out a big belch and lazily tried to get up on my back, but realized it was still too big and half of it dragged on the ground. I decided to pull it forward so it could drape over my shoulder so at least its face could be up off the ground.

“Looks like you gained just a tad of weight off of those sheep!” Said Lee jokingly at Samehada who just grunted at the comment as it fell asleep.

“So, how can we get rid of these blasted sheep?” Asked Neji, a question we all wanted to know the answer to.

“Well, the farmer suggested burning them,” suggested Lee.

“Yeah, but the smell of roasting meat would attract every wolf, coyote, and bird of prey in the whole country,” I commented.

“True, but we can’t just leave the pile here to rot,” Said Neji, “Perhaps if we just gave them a proper burial…”

“Maybe... That would get them out of sight, but the smell would still be there,” I commented. But then I had an idea. “What if we put them in a casket?”

“It’s worth a try, but where would we get one that would fit-”

I had already started to encase the pile of sheep in a wooden orb with mokuton as Neji spoke and sunk it into the ground, so Neji’s comment became null and void.

“Good thinking!” said an excited Lee, happy to see the sheep sinking into the earth.

“Not bad, girl.” This time it was the farmer, approaching with a satisfied look on his face. “Now, I’ll show you where they were killed because now that those are gone, I would not like to have to bury anymore.”

He then led us to a midsized field with at least fifty sheep in it and a few small shelters. There was a padlock on the gate, and the farmer opened it and led us inside the pen.

“I put that on the gate to try to stop the intruders, but it seems to just attract more of them. In fact, just last night ten were mercilessly killed.”

“Hmmmm… Looks like we’ll just have to have a stake out,” I said.

“Yup! And we will figure out just what is killing your sheep,” added Lee.

“Alright, whatever it takes to get rid of this sheep killer.” After that, the farmer handed us a small basket of bread and cheese and left us for the night. We ate our dinner and hid in the back of the lean-to shelter facing the woods so that we could see anything approach.

The hours ticked by slowly, but soon, the wait would have purpose. Neji was the first to spot it.

“I see… Some kind of black mass approaching from over there,” Whispered Neji, pointing to the far side of the pasture. And then, sure enough, a furry looking black creature slowly crept out of the woods. Lee and Neji had no idea what it was, but I did.

“Kakuzu…” I whispered under my breath, knowing the creature well. As it approached, we could clearly see its mask and it reached out for the nearest sheep with its tentacles.

“Oh no you don’t,” mumbled Lee, tossing two kunai at the thing.

“Wait! There’s another one… Behind us!” As soon as Neji said this, another black tentacle slipped into the shelter and reached for by arm, but Samehada grabbed it and bit the tip off, causing it to retreat. But, this only angered what it was attached to and the whole creature came around and blocked the exit, only Lee was quick enough to escape around it before it sealed us in.

I heard him attack from the back, but this thing only absorbed the blow.

“Ugh! It’s got my leg!” That was enough for me and Neji to attack. He hit it with an air palm to knock it back and I, seeing that it was the ‘Fire Grudge’, used a water jutsu- Boiling water spray!

This forced a further retreat and it released Lee, but now all four of them surrounded us. Knowing their abilities, I knew this wasn’t going to be easy to get out of. I trapped the one closest to me in a water prison and fended off its friend with Samehada in my other arm, wishing it wasn’t so heavy and that I had just left the weights off. My one armed strikes were sluggish, but I had a team with me and as Neji engaged two of them, Lee attacked the one I was just barely able to fend off just before it had a chance to strike.  

This went on for a good while, but we couldn’t hold off all four of these forever. Then, they suddenly stopped and began a hasty retreat into the woods. I released the one in the water prison and it scampered off, catching up to the others and leaping into the thick cover of the trees.

Then, we caught our breath, never taking our eyes off of the spot that the creatures leapt into the forest, but then a real horror walked out in their place.

It was Kakuzu, and a very angry one at that.

Before any of us could think, Kakuzu shot his arm out, grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me in. Samehada held on for dear life and the boys were too slow, reaching out just a second too late. The next thing I knew, Kakuzu lodged me up to my neck in one of the black creatures and had one arm held out to Neji, the other pointing at Lee.

“Stay back!” I shouted, not wanting anyone else to be captured.

“You should listen to the girl, she seems pretty smart,” Finally, some respect! Although, this really was not the exact kind I was looking for…

Well, they followed my directions and backed up, but I could tell it was especially hard for Lee to leave me. They then turned around and ran back, probably to get the farmer. But as soon as they left, Kakuzu turned around and started walking back into the forest. The thing I was lodged in followed right behind him. After traveling a distance, I started losing feeling in my arms and legs.

“So, you really think I’m the smart one, eh Kakuzu?” I asked jokingly, despite my current position. He just kept walking.

“You seriously don’t recognize me?” again, no reply. “You think you know someone…”

“Well, why do you think I haven’t killed you yet and let your little friends get away free?”

“Aha! He speaks!”

“Oh shut up. You can be even worse than Hidan.”

“At least I’m not a total perv!”

“True. Oh, by the way, the longer you stay in that thing the more your body starts to dissolve.”

“Wonderful. Then why don’t you GET ME THE HECK OUT OF HERE!?!?”

“No…”

“Fine. Leave me to become nothing but a head. See how well I can fight then!”

Silence.  Wondering how Samehada was faring, I realized that I could no longer feel it behind be. Then, I saw it creep up next to me, and then up to Kakuzu.

“No, don’t do it!” I quickly whispered, and Samehada fell back behind me just as Kakuzu turned around.

“Hm?”

“Oh, nothing!”

After about an excruciating hour or so longer, Kakuzu finally stopped inside of a cave and pulled me out.

“Hm, not bad. You fared well.”

After a quick inspection, I realized I was pretty much all there except for my left arm from the elbow down. Then, the creature spit out the weight that was on my arm and I grabbed it.

Next, Kakuzu took my right hand and measured it.

 

“About… That long… And that… Big… I hate to waste this one on you, but it looks like I have no choice. ” He then reached back and pulled a forearm out of his back. OK, I’ll admit it was pretty nasty, but I would rather have all my limbs even if they were mix matched.

He held it up to my arm and started stitching the two parts together. It was about the right size, but felt a little strange. I then realized a little something extra had come with this particular limb. I looked at the hand and a wet tongue lolled out a mouth on the palm.

“Where, uh, did you get this, Kakuzu?”

“When Deidara blew himself up, I got one arm and Tobi snatched the other.”

“That’s just wonderful. Anyways, aren’t you supposed to be dead?”

Then a sickeningly familiar voice came out of the shadows, “Yes, but a wonderful boy named Kabuto demonstrated a little something called Edo Tensei, and, well, I just had to try it out for myself.” Then, the owner of the voice walked out a bit, the low light reflecting off a single yellow eye.

“I thought Tobi helped me get rid of you!”

“Oh, not quite. You see, you have to get rid of both halves for me to die, and it seems that you are faring quite nicely.” She then walked out into view. Her hair was in a long tangled mess; the bangs grown out to cover half of her face, and a good portion of her neck and left shoulder were wrapped in bandages. In one arm she held a long dagger and had a few more around her waist, strapped to a belt.

“Then, what do you want from me?” I asked, dreading the answer.

“I’m glad you asked. Like I said, I can only die if you do first, so it would be in my best interest to keep you alive, but you also pose a threat to me, being my equal half...”

“And?” Gosh, my other half sounded even more prim and proper that Neji. There is no way we were ever the same person.

“So, I’ll leave Kakuzu in charge of keeping you… Busy while I carry on.”

“But, what are you up to?”

“Well, after almost being killed, I realized something. The world has no acceptance for the outcast, the no good, the ‘other half’. So, this time you can stay in the shadows while I live in the sun!”

“Look, we can both live our own separate lives without terrorizing the other!”

“No, we can’t! You would just get in the way!” Now we were outright yelling at each other. I walked up to her and furiously and breathlessly said,

“Get in the way of what?”

“In due time…” And with that, she left the cave, Kakuzu’s creatures sealing the exit behind her.


	4. Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This set of chapters was written from multiple perspectives so I have indicated who is the narrator with an indented header each time it changes.

_Jess_

I quickly lost track of time in the sealed cavern. Had it been an hour, a day, a week? But I would not waist a single minute! Whenever Kakuzu was not looking, I would attempts to recreate Deidara’s explosive clay, although my knowledge was limited and resources even more so.

The only things I knew were that it was a Doton, earth style, jutsu and that Deidara sculpted his special clay in one of the various mouths on his body, one of which I now possessed and lived on my left hand. In the process, I could assume that his chakra was somehow infused into the creations so that they could be detonated remotely and nearly ‘come to life’.

My first few attempts were failures involving fusing soil with different types of elementally manipulated chakra and would come out of the mouth as sparking or bubbling mud. My closest recreation, which was created with earth and fire element, made mushy brown clumps of dirt that somewhat resembled chocolate mochi when expelled from the mouth. They created a small blast on impact if you threw them hard enough, but it would take hundreds of them thrown at once to make a big enough blast to escape.

The waiting periods when Kakuzu was watching me were even harder to deal with than the clay failures though. If I thought Zetsu was dull, I had another thing coming. He would just sit around going through a bingo book and counting money. Another one of his hobbies was also staring his captive down for hours on end with a blank, ominous expression. It really made me feel even more useless than ever in the situation, like a sitting duck waiting for some unseen danger to attack.

I managed to keep dehydration at bay by using a scaled down version of the water style jutsu Exploding Water Shockwave which lets the user expel great volumes of water from the mouth, but I just let out enough to fill my cupped hands. But soon, hunger began to set in. First came the headache, then dizziness and sharp stomach pain, and I finally fell into a state of hysteria, nibbling on my mochi-bombs and later vomiting them back up. I would pace, bite, spit up, pace, bite, spit up, slowly losing my mind. Kakuzu must have found it entertaining sense he never intervened.

Finally, not able to support my own weight and collapsing on the ground, I let out a single word, my throat so raw that even the one syllable stung like a bee.

“Why?”

“She said to watch you, and that is all I intend to do,”

I heard the clanking of coins before there was nothing but black.

 

_Lee_

“Did you find her?!” I frantically asked Neji.

“No, and we have scoured the entire forest twice,”

“But we can’t just give up! I’ll look it over three times, or four, or a million if that’s what it will take!!” Not again, I won’t lose her a second time!

“Lee! Be reasonable! If we head back to the village, we can bring a sensor type shinobi back with us to search. Besides, even my Byakugan can’t find her. I doubt they are even still in the area…”

“You know how far away we are from the village! Jess could be dead by the time we get back!”

“Yeah, but it would take even longer to search each and every area around the forest,”

Gah! Why does Neji have to be right! Why can’t she just be here!

“Come on, we’re leaving,”

And just as Neji turned around, I noticed a bush shiver. Then, her sword burst out of the underbrush! I knew she was still around!

“Hey Neji! Look what’s shown up!” He turned around and cringed a little, but then realized what it meant. The sword was bouncing around crazily like a freshly caught fish flailing on the deck. “I think it wants us to follow it,”

And with that, it leapt back into the underbrush with us following close behind.

“You really think that thing knows the way,”

“Have a little faith, Neji!”

“Well, I suppose it is her favorite pet…”

How far away was she? And was she OK? I’m sure she is, I mean, she beat Neji. This tentacle guy should be no problem for her! I bet she’s sitting on his dead body right now, waiting for us to show up.

 

_Kakuzu_

Hmmm… Tora, male, age 30… Leaf Village Anbu… Speed and strength of a tiger… Bounty of $60,000… Not bad… His heart would be a good addition to the collection.

No explosions from the girl today either. Finally, they were really getting annoying… It’s funny how she thought I didn’t notice. She still hasn’t moved though, and my mission wasn’t to kill her. Ahh… It’s only been a week though, she will be fine. There’s enough muscle in there to feed her for another one, maybe even two weeks. Plus, she will become less of a threat in the process. I bet she is losing strength in those monster arms every hour. Probably will make her look better too; what boy would want to go out with that? Most kunoichi get that kind of strength from focusing chakra in their fists, not through brute effort. I’ll bet she trained 24/7 to develop those. Hmph, of course, the weights… Now, speaking of bets, let’s take a look at the money…

 

_Neji_

So this is where it is… We were staring at a huge pile of rocks, presumably covering the entrance to some sort of cavern, although my Byakugan couldn’t pierce through. Must be some kind of barrier jutsu…

No!!! Lee was already in the air, about to strike the wall. It was too late to stop him, so I added to the attack to attempt burst through. So much for having a plan We easily got through the rocks, but what lay underneath would pose a larger challenge.

“It’s those things again,”

“Yeah, looks like we will just have to break through them too, eh Neji?” said Lee, getting ready to strike again.

“Not so fast. Don’t you remember that they absorb any physical attacks,”

“Oh yeah…” He paused to think, but then had an idea. I could tell because of the sudden spark in his eyes. This had better be good… “Then, let’s just break through another side!”

“That’s… Actually not a bad idea, but we will have to be careful to not harm anyone trapped inside,”

With that, we traveled to the side of the hill and began striking a small point with powerful, precise hits. This worked until we got to the last layer. My final hit was not focused enough and triggered the whole thing to start collapsing in on itself.

We quickly ran in, finding Jess passed out on the floor, completely oblivious to the falling rocks around her. Lee tried to pick her up, but found the weight to be too much, so I helped, but the best we could do was slowly drag her towards the light. The going got quicker though when her sword got under her and pushed even more, but it was still not quick enough. Pulling as hard as we could, I still could see we might not make it and, even worse, I saw the tentacle man from before start to pull himself out of the rubble.

“Let’s go!!!” I yelled, and the sword backed away from us. “That’s not what I meant! Uh, you probably don’t even understand me you dumb hunk of metal!” But, it did, ripping out of the bandages wrapping it, revealing a mouth and it literally swallowed Jess and quickly slithered out with us following. We got out just as the roof caved in, hopefully crushing tentacles in the process.

First, we rushed out of the area, but once a safe distance away, we stopped.

“I can’t believe we finally got her back,” said Lee, “But I think you can let her out now, Mr. Sword,” But it just let out a gurgling noise and moved over towards me. It lifted its hilt up to my hand and started waving it.

“Neji, I think Mr. Sword wants you to grab it,”

“OK, but we are not calling it Mr. Sword,” I held on and instantly felt a slow stream of my chakra flowing into it. Soon after, it was glowing blue and then, a few minutes later it pulled back, opening its mouth.

What came out was alive, but barely.

 

_Lee_

“Well, that was close,” Phew, we just were almost crushed by rocks, and I think that one tentacle guy was.

“Yeah, but how are we going to get her back to the village,” Neji had a good point there… Hmm… “If we take the weights off of her, it will be a piece of-”

“No! We can’t do that!”

“Your right, Guy sensei will probably tell us we took the easy road and make us come back for them… But I don’t see any other option.”

There was one way… No, I couldn’t. But, Guy sensei said…

“I’ll carry her,” I said. Time to take them off.

“That will make him even madder, Lee. He said to take them off only to protect someone you… love…”

“I know,”

 

_Neji_

Hmph. It was really her all along. Lee really had us all fooled that he was bonkers for Sakura. But then again, he hasn’t even talked about her sense Jess showed up. He could just be embarrassed about that though. I’m probably just overthinking this. I bet it’s just a ‘best friend’ kind of love. Although, he probably would be better off chasing this one with his infamous ‘fiery passion’ instead of creeping Sakura out. Plus, she hasn’t said a single remark about his eyebrows yet…

Stop wiggling! I was stuck carrying the sword, and it had Lee’s weights. It was like carrying a heavy flopping fish.

Lee was in front, going as fast as he could and sweating like a dog. He had a steely expression, but I could already tell how carrying such a heavy load was quickly wearing him down.

“Maybe we should rest for the night,” I said at sundown.

“No, I’m fine,” he said breathlessly.

“You don’t look fine. Let’s just stop for a break,”

“I said I’m fine, I’ll only be able to rest once we get to the village,”

“We won’t be able to get to the village if you keep this pace up. At least slow down for a bit,”

“Fine,” At least I talked some sense into him.

We kept going through the night and the next day. Even I was ready to drop dead from exhaustion by then, I could only imagine how Lee was faring. When the sun rose on the third day, I noticed his secret. He was glowing with a blue aura.

“Lee, please tell me you didn’t start opening the gates to keep going,” but the answer to my question was bright blue and right in front of me. He was already on six and fading fast. Lee must have done it at night so I would not notice.

“That’s it, after that wears off, we are stopping even if I have to force you down,”

“But we are so close,”

Why did you have to be so stubborn? But he was right, at this point it would be silly to stop… Wait! No, Lee, you are so stupid! I was pushed back by a green shockwave and he burst off, doubling his speed. There was no way I could keep up with that. Looks like I will have to meet him back in the village and make sure I don’t find him passed out along the path there, although I wasn’t sure if I would make it myself.


	5. Lies

“…recovering fine, but she still hasn’t woken up,”

“But it’s been three days!!”

“Yes, I know, but there is nothing more to do but wait,”

“Gah! There has to be something else you can do!”

Pressure… Squeezing… On… My hand… And searing pain… Everywhere… Tearing through every fiber of my body… Just lay still…

“Calm down! We have done everything we could and she has no fatal injuries. All that is left to do is wait. Could you please do that?”

“There must be something, some herb or salve or anything!”

“You of all people should know there is no cure for a coma. Look at your other student, in here every month because of the technique YOU taught him!”

“Are you blaming me for this?! I didn’t tell the Hokage to give her right back to the Akatsuki!”

“Visiting hours are over for you now,”

Pressure leaving… No… No… Don’t go… Please don’t leave…

“What! I still have two hours!”

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,”

Squeeze back… Slowly… Too late… Say something! Anything…

“Shuuusssshhhh…”

“She’s awake! Watch out!” Gai, why must you be so loud…

“How are you feeling? Does your head hurt? Are you-”

“I’ll be ok…” It hurt to talk. It hurt everywhere. “Water,”

“You heard her! Get the girl a drink!” A minute later, I felt a straw touch my lip. I started to sip the cool liquid even though it burned going down. Next, the medic approached.

“Are you in pain?”

“Yeah…” I suddenly felt all of the burning through my body again.

“Where?”

“Everywhere…Ugh” I winced when trying to grab the cup from Gai.

“Don’t move too much. I’ll get you started on some painkillers for now. Try to get some rest, ok?”

“Ok…” A minute later, I felt a needle in my arm and I started to drift back to sleep.

“She will wake right back up right?”

“Yes, especially if you cause another ruckus,”

 

“…to wake up. I’m going to need you to get up now,” I opened my eyes to see the pink-haired girl standing at the foot of my bed. What was her name again? Sasha… Simone…

“There you go. How are you feeling today, Jess?” Crap! She knew mine…

“I’m doing better, Shakira?”

“Sakura,”

“Sakura!” Whoops… But at least I WAS feeling better. The searing pain was down to a tingle.

“That’s good.  Could you hold this for me?” she asked, passing me a clipboard.

“Sure thing. How long was I out for?”

“About two more days,”

“Great,” I reached out for it and Clash! The clipboard hit the floor, sliding right off my fingertips. “Oh,”

“Hmmm… Try wrapping your fingers around this,” Sakura held out her pen, and all I could do was swat at it.

“They won’t move!”

“What won’t move?”

“My fingers! You killed my fingers!!!”

“Don’t panic. The nerves are probably just in shock after what you’ve been through. But, I’ll make something for you,” With that, she left the room. I let out a long sigh and tested out my toes. They wouldn’t budge either.

As I started to fall back asleep, I heard the door click open.

“Oh, did I wake you?”

“No, Zetsu, you can come in,”

“Had a rough time on our last mission did we?”

“Haha, you have no idea,”

“I know how Kakuzu can be, I’m shocked you got out alive,”

“Oh ye of little faith! Although, he wasn’t the worst of my problems,”

“Really?” Opening my eyes, I saw that Zetsu was genuinely shocked.

“Yeah, it was her,”

“Not again. I thought she was long gone.”

“Nope, and now she has some ‘Edo Tensei’ thing under her belt,”

“Well, he was very crafty, so this doesn’t surprise me. Although I’m sure that this attack is just the beginning,” He was starting to act strange, rubbing his neck and drifting his gaze to the air vent.

“What’s wrong with you?” His attention instantly snapped to me and he gave a light laugh with a smile. I could see it was a false one.

“Oh, I’m fine. I just haven’t been sleeping well with you in your current state. That’s all,” A lie, that’s definitely what that was. What’s going on here?

“Uh uh. Anyways, should we tell someone about her?”

“Of course,” The same smile. He then leaned over me as to kiss my forehead, but stopped just before contact was made. “I’m being watched,” he whispered before coming back up.

“Feel better soon,” He said with a real grin while walking out.

Being watched? But why? I guess they have reason not to trust him, but still…

“I’m back,”

“Oh, hey uhhh…” Dang it! I forgot her name again! But I don’t want to look like a fool! What was it… It was a flower, right? Um… “…Petunia?”

“Sakura. They must have you on some strong painkillers…” Sure, of course that was the reason. Blame it on the meds. “Anyways, I made this for you, it should help. Drunk up,” She held a small cup up to my lips and I sipped the most vile liquid I have ever tasted in my life. It was even worse that Hidan’s ‘World Famous Mystery Organ Stew’ and that is quite an accomplishment. Even Zetsu would spit up that nasty stuff! And he will eat ANYTHING.

I must have showed quite an expression because the next thing she said was, “I know it tastes bad, but this will help you regain control of your fingers,”

“And toes?”

“And toes.”

“Thanks,” After wincing down the remaining liquid, she left and I tried once again to rest. This was going to be a long recovery… 

 

The next day I awoke to quite the ruckus.

“Let me go!!”

“No, you have to stay in bed,”

“I’m fine!! Just let me go in there for a few minutes!”

“She needs her rest and so do you,” Who was it now? Although, I have a pretty good hunch

on who it is…

“Let him in…”

“Oh, your awake? You have five minutes,”

“Thank you!” Yup. It’s Lee, hospital gown and all. “Are you doing well? Anything broken?

Do you hurt here?” He was inspecting, poking, and prodding my various wrapped up appendages.

“Yes, I’m fine. You can stop that now,” I said sitting up. “Ugh,” I grabbed my abdomen as it pulsed with pain.

“Let’s lay you back down,” said Lee as he helped me get back down on the bed. “I thought you said you were fine,”

“Haha. I thought I was…”

“I’m sure you will be real soon!”

“Thanks. Anyways, how did I drag myself back here?”

“Oh, let’s just say I did most of the dragging!”

“What! You didn’t! But, how did that work out?”

“Neji and I got you back here!” He seemed very proud of this. I don’t blame him.

“You guys fought off Kakuzu? Impressive! It’s no wonder your in here too, though,”

“Actually, he just got crushed when everything caved in,”

“So, what happened to you?”

“You’re not light as a feather you know,”

“What? I’m not that fat, am I?” What a great way to wake up. Your best friend calls you heavy.

“Oh no no no!! I didn’t mean it that way!! I just meant the weights were hard to carry!”

“Oh, phew. Where are they?”

“Haha! You should have seen the medics trying to take them off of you! They had to call in Tsunade! And even still, they are just in the corner over there,”

“I wish I was awake to see that! Anyways, why are you in here?”

“Well, uh… um…”

“Spit it out! I’m sure I can take it!”

“Erm… I went to seven…”

“What?” What does he mean, ‘I went to seven’?

“To get you back here in time, I had to open number seven,”

“You idiot!! Why did you do that! I would have been fine!” The seventh gate? One more and he would have been toast! All for me?

“Uh… Well…”

“Gah! Don’t explain yourself! Thanks… I appreciate it,” I guess I could have been dying… What a concept.

“Awww…” Now he was as red as a tomato.

“Your times up, back to bed with you,” Dang! The medic was back…

“Alright, see you,” I said waving my hand. Wow! I could hold my fingers up. Sweet!

“Bye! See you later!” On his way out, I noticed that the hospital gowns are open in the back.

“Uh, Lee. You may want to cover up,”

“Huh?”

“There’s a full moon out today,” I let out a light chuckle, it was quite hilarious, no? And then the blush spread all the way down to the other cheeks.

“…” He looked ripe to feint as he wrapped the gown around his backside and was escorted out by the medic who was stifling a grin. I wiggled my fingers as I finally let out my laughter. Oh Lee!

Then the door opened again.

“What now!”

“It’s just us,” I looked over to see Tenten walk in with Neji close behind, still eyeing the scene outside.

“What happened in here?” He asked.

“Lee happened,” I said, and they both seemed to understand.

“We just wanted to see how you were doing,” Said Tenten.

“Well, I’m slowly getting better,”

“That’s good!”

“Yeah. That last mission didn’t end too well, did it?”

“You were there, Neji. It was awful. And trust me, dirt is by no means edible or delectable,”

“What?” Oh, I guess I should tell him.

“This guy got hungry,” I held up my left hand, and the tongue lolled out, still not fully recovered.

“What the-”

“Warn us before you do something like that!”

“Oh, sorry Tenten. I forget you guys didn’t have two years to get used to hand mouths,”

“How did that even happen?” She asked, over the initial shock. I guess it was pretty weird to suddenly have such a thing.

“Long story short, I lost leftie and Kakuzu gave me this guy before letting me slowly die. Such fun!”

“I thought Asuma’s squad already got rid of Kakuzu,”

“Me too, Neji, but there’s this jutsu that,” I think Zetsu wanted me to not tell anyone of her, so I better be careful here, “Brought him back. It’s just my guess. Completely hypothetical, of course. Perhaps the Akatsuki are trying to get some members back. He was a powerful asset to them,”

“Makes sense. When you can, I would suggest you report everything you know directly to Tsunade,”

“Of course,” Once again, a lie.


End file.
